Israel counts on its tourists to form ‘human bridges’ in UAE
Country’s tourism minister confident of significant increase in visitors
Tourism in the UAE and Israel will see a boom with thousands of visitors expected to travel between the two countries in the coming months. This was shared by Yoel Razvozov, Israeli Minister of Tourism, who arrived in Dubai yesterday for the official inauguration of the Israel Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, which will take place on Thursday.
Razvozov’s arrival marks the first visit of an Israeli Minister of Tourism to the UAE. Aside from touring the Expo, Razvozov is set to meet leading managers in the tourism and aviation industry in the UAE.
In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, the Israeli minister said: “The mere fact that there is an Israel Pavilion in the UAE will make our case stand out. Our pavilion will definitely attract lots of people from different countries. I’m sure that after their first visit, many will want to visit Israel.”
Impressed with the UAE
Razvozov continued: “As for the Israelis, since the signing of Abraham Accords, thousands have visited the UAE. Their interest in the country is genuine and they come back impressed by what they’ve seen. We live in the same geographical zone – the flight takes only a couple of hours - so I’m confident that we will see even bigger numbers of tourists.”
He underlined that there is vast potential between the two countries in various spheres. “Our goal, from both sides, is to implement this potential. We are just at the beginning of the process, but no doubt our mutual future is promising and bright.”
Razvozov thanked the UAE for welcoming Israel at the Expo. “Having an Israeli Pavilion on UAE soil just a year after signing the Abraham Accords is a big step forward in relations between our countries,” he said.
“Peace is maintained through mutual learning and recognition between the common people. In this context, tourists from both Israel and the UAE are building the bridges, human bridges for the peace. I do invite tourists from UAE to come and explore our beautiful country and the warmth of its people.”